


Could be stuck here and happy

by roadsoftrial



Series: Eight little fingers and only two thumbs [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Restaurant, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Idiots in Love, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, M/M, Secret Relationship, kitchen life is not kind
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 20:45:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12919917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/roadsoftrial/pseuds/roadsoftrial
Summary: Five times Cor had Nyx's back.One time Nyx had his.





	Could be stuck here and happy

**Author's Note:**

> ALRIGHT I guess I should explain.  
> I've been working on this restaurant AU for a while.   
> And some parts are ready, but not the beginning, so I can't post it just yet.  
> Anyway, just for fun I thought, hey, why not make Cor and Nyx a thing. No big deal.  
> I was WRONG.  
> Because then I couldn't stop thinking about them.  
> So here it is, the side piece to the main fic that doesn't exist yet.
> 
> ~~Also I just lost my 'Five times [...]' virginity, am I a legit fic writer now?~~

-i-

(2001)

‘Ulric?’

‘That’s me, sir!’

Nyx laughs at Cor’s disgruntled look, which is unexpected, but not entirely unpleasant, Cor catches himself thinking.

The kid exudes confidence, looking much older than the 16 years his application claims he is. Like he’s already been there, seen things, too many of them, perhaps. Not unlike the 13-year-old he was when he first started cleaning dishes.

He follows Cor to the office with a step that should be more hesitant. Cor wishes he were irritated by it, but can’t bring himself to be. There’s something bemusing about that kid, and he can’t put his finger on what it is.

They sit at the desk, facing each other, Nyx not once breaking eye contact, no so much in defiance as to make sure Cor knows he knows his own worth, artfully walking the thin line that separates confidence from arrogance.

He wants to hire him, right then and there.

Despite his lack of experience, despite his age, despite the fact Titus will kill him when he finds out he’s interviewing people behind his back again.

‘So. Why should I hire you?’ Cor finally asks, leaning back into his chair.

‘Well,’ he grins, leaning forward, refusing to let Cor escape. ‘I’m very charming, as you may have noticed. I’m good at convincing people they need things they don’t want. Ladies and gentlemen alike can’t get enough of my playful, yet confident demeanor. Plus, I need money and I live nearby.’

Cor wants to want to punch him, he really does. He wants to not want to hire him on the spot, wants to not like him as much as he does.

But as much as he tries, he can’t contain the smile at the corner of his lips, nor the ‘When do you want to start?’ that escapes them.

Titus is going to kill him.

-ii-

(2007)

‘Hey. Relax. You got this.’

Nyx looks up at Cor, wants to believe him, really does, as his shaky hands fumble with his phone, finally managing to stuff it in his back pocket on the third try.

‘I… I don’t think I do.’

‘It’s fine. I’ll be right here,’ he says in a low voice as he places a hand he hopes is reassuring onto his tense shoulder.

Nyx has always looked older than he really was. Has always been more mature, more together, than he should’ve been. Except for this very moment, where he reminds Cor of a child on his first day of school, and it would almost be endearing if the circumstances weren’t so grim.

‘Are you… are you sure you can’t come with me?’

‘It’s a closed meeting, Nyx.’

‘Fuck… yeah I know.’

He brings a shaky hand up, works on the skin around the nail of his thumb, not sure what else to do with it.

He has always looked and acted older than he really was, and as a result, had to deal with things people his age shouldn’t have to deal with.

Because a 22-year-old shouldn’t have to be here, shouldn’t hit rock bottom so fast, so hard. And Cor wishes it didn’t have to come to this, wishes life could’ve been simpler for Nyx, a little kinder, perhaps. Wishes the industry didn’t have to ruin Nyx like it had ruined so many people around him, like it had tried to ruin him, without ever quite succeeding. Because it’s a soul crushing world they operate in, an isolated world, where you take it and take it, until you don’t. Until you start looking for something, anything to lessen the everyday blows. It’s more painful for some than others. Cor was lucky. He’s always been lucky.

But Nyx wasn’t.

And Cor gave him an in into this mess 6 years ago. It’s only natural he should try to pull him out.

-iii-

(2009)

‘Ulric!’

‘Chef!’

‘Office. Now.’

‘Aye Captain!’

Nyx leaves the bar where he’s been sitting for the past hour, trying to make next week’s schedule only to be constantly bothered by almost literally everyone, under the younger waiters’ bewildered eyes. Cor seems to be in a mood, and they all know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of it, and they also know not to make it worse by _joking around_ on their way to the slaughterhouse.

But then again, none of them are secretly dating Cor, and so none of them can tell the difference between normal Cor and angry Cor. Nyx can.

This is neither, and he’s not sure he likes it.

He enters the small office and closes the door behind him.

‘Hey babe. What’s up?’ he asks, slouching in the chair in front of Cor’s desk, a bold, if tired, grin on his face. Cor tries, really tries to be annoyed by it. But, Nyx.

‘We’re firing Titus.’

Nyx loses the grin, eyes opening wide.

‘Are you sure? Who’s replacing him? We need someone fast, Cor, I can’t jus—’

‘Relax. I’m taking care of it right now.’

‘Oh are you?!’ Nyx asks, panic taking over his voice.

Things have been hectic, lately, because of Drautos and his lack of… showing up, really. Nyx, has been trying his best to take over when Titus bails, to keep the morale up, but there’s only so much a mere waiter can do.

Cor nods slowly, analysing Nyx, waiting to see if he’ll catch his drift, sighs when he doesn’t.

‘I think it should be you.’

‘Very funny.’

‘I think,’ Cor says slowly, to make sure Nyx understands despite the bewildered look on his face, ‘that you should be the new maître d’, Nyx. So do Regis and Clarus. And so will all of the wait staff, probably.’

Nyx bursts out laughing, a little too fast, a little louder than he’d like.

‘You’re out of your mind.’

‘Am I? You’ve already been covering for him for the past three months, Nyx. Now it’d be official. Without having to wait tables at the same time. With a significant pay increase.’

‘I’m… I don’t think I’m ready...’

‘Oh fuck off. You’re never going to be _ready_. You start where you start, and you go up from there, that’s all the ready you need.’

Nyx chuckles, takes a deep breath.

Maybe he is ready. Maybe

‘You… really think I can do it?’

‘Of course. I don’t go around giving away the big jobs to any idiot with a pretty face I see.’

Nyx laughs, a heartfelt laugh, for the first time in what feels like weeks.

‘Aw you think I’m pretty!’

‘Well, obviously. I also think you’re an idiot. So is that a yes?’

Nyx pauses, the shadow of a smile lingering on his lips, and really thinks about it. To try and find a reason he shouldn’t go for it.

‘Alright. I’ll do it.’

-iv-

(2015)

‘…Hey babe.’

‘…Nyx?’

‘Hey… Did I wake you?’

‘Obviously, what’s wrong?’ he asks, trying to keep the snark to a minimum. Because he usually knows what those late-night calls are about.

‘I… um… could you, like, meet me here? I… I feel weird…’

There it is.

It doesn’t take any more to pull Cor from under Nyx’s blanket and put his pants on, phone still tucked between his shoulder and his ear.’

‘Leaving in a minute, Nyx.’

‘Cool… cool.’

Cor is about to hang up when he hears the faintest ‘Babe?’

‘Yeah?’

‘Can you… can you, um, keep talking to me?’

Oh.

‘Um, sure. You at Cid’s?’

‘Yeah. Outside,’ he specifies after a second.

‘Did you…?’

‘No… No.’

‘Good. I just left,’ he says as he locks the door behind him, before going for the stairs because the elevator takes just a little too long.

And he talks to him for the 10 minutes it takes him to reach the bar, about nothing particularly meaningful. Because that’s not the point. He talks of the groceries he’s going to buy tomorrow, Nyx’s cat, the haircuts they both desperately need, … Nyx responds in whispers and quiet chuckles. Cor finally spots him sitting on the curb by the parking lot, holding onto his phone like it’s a lifeline. He hangs up when Nyx notices him, and slowly walks towards him, crouching in front of him, raising a tentative hand towards Nyx’s cheek, letting him lean into it.

It’s another five minutes before Nyx can muster the will to get up, and another five before he can say he’s ok without sounding like he’s lying.

-v-

(2016)

‘So.’

‘What’s up, Babe?’

‘I talked with my insurance guy.’

‘Exciting news, tell me more.’

‘He said something.’

‘No way.’

‘Would you fucking stop—‘

Nyx snorts, bursts out laughing, apologizes as he pulls Cor’s waist towards his, slipping his hands in the back pockets of Cor’s jeans, his own brand of peace offering.

‘So your insurance guy said things,’ he picks up with a soft voice, massaging the small of Cor’s back with heavy thumbs, almost succeeding in making him purr.

‘He did. And, well, he’s a jackass and said it as a joke, but I thought it was interesting.’

Nyx halts the conversation again to press their bodies together, laying a long, soft kiss over Cor’s lips, just because.

‘Nyx…’

‘Sorry, sorry, continue.’

‘I asked if there was any way I could get you on my insurance.’

‘And he said no.’

‘He said, and I quote, “No, unless you two are married.” And then he laughed real hard because apparently that’s his idea of a funny joke.’

‘What a fucking riot this guy.’

‘Anyway. I did some digging, and there are benefits to being married, turns out. Like, tax-wise and others.’

‘And so you want to marry me, I get it,’ Nyx laughs.

‘I do, actually. If you’d like.’

‘Yeah and I… wait, what?’

‘Nyx Ulric,’ Cor deadpans, staring into Nyx’s wide eyes, ‘will you marry me so we can file our taxes jointly and save on insurance fees?’

Nyx bursts out laughing, burying his face in the curve of Cor’s neck.

‘I’m game,’ he says quietly after taking a few breaths, hoping Cor doesn’t notice how warm his face has become. ‘But only if you admit it’s also because you’re deeply, madly in love with me.’ His voice isn’t as cheeky, nor as steady as he’d like it to be.

Cor pulls lightly at the hair in his hand, forcing Nyx to face him. He snorts at the look on his face.

‘Well, obviously.’

-vi-

(2009)

‘Just go without me, guys. Forgot my charger.’

Nyx waves Crowe and Libertus off and watches them walk down the subway station. He turns around until he reaches the back entrance of the restaurant, struggling to open the lock with the key Cor’s given him that he’s not quite supposed to have. He quickly deactivates the alarm (he’s forgotten _once_ and never heard the end of it), crosses the empty, silent kitchen with a quick step, because it never quite feels like he should be in there. The kitchen is Cor’s territory, and setting foot in it always feels a little like trespassing, even though he usually tolerates Nyx’s presence. He quickly makes his way across, past the supply closet, towards the employee room where his locker is.

That’s when he hears a sound.

Because of course, someone who shouldn’t be there would show up the moment _he’_ s there when he shouldn’t be. Of course.

But it’s not a burglar, or rowdy kids doing god knows what to the building’s wall. Because the sound comes from the supply closet he just walked by, and god he hopes it’s not a fucking rat.

Quietly, without turning on the lights, but tapping the flashlight icon on his phone, he walks towards the door. Waits for another sound, any sound.

When he hears nothing, he quietly opens the door open, lighting up the room with the weak beam coming out of his phone.

And there, on the floor, wrapped in a sleeping bag, his head on a flour bag, aggressively squinting at the sudden light in his eyes, is Cor.

Cor who immediately sits up and curses.

They stare at each other, unsure how to proceed. Nyx has so many questions, but he also knows Cor, and how he gets when people ask too many questions. Or talk to him at all, for that matter.

‘What… the fuck are you doing?’ he finally manages to ask.

‘Trying to sleep, obviously,’ Cor replies, unfazed.

And Nyx can’t help but laugh, which makes Cor look even more irritated than he already did.

‘Well, obviously. But why here?’

Cor stares, doesn’t say anything for a while. Then he sighs, drops his shoulders, gives in.

‘I need to make chicken stock from scratch in the morning, and I live far. Figured I’d get more sleep if I stayed here,’ he says while rubbing his eye with the heel of his hand.

Nyx doesn’t really get it, but he kind of does, because with Ardyn in charge, very little has made sense in this restaurant, of late.

Cor runs a hand through his short hair, sighs some more. He looks beyond tired, which makes Nyx wonder just how long this has been going on. He’s always there when Nyx arrives in the morning, always around when everyone leaves for the night.

‘Do you… want to crash at my place?’ he asks without thinking, because it doesn’t feel right not to.

Cor takes a while to answer, because he’s never been one to accept anyone’s help, never been one to ask for favours. Because he’s quiet and strong and stubborn and unbreakable.

‘…ok,’ he whispers, because that’s how little he’s willing to fight it, because that’s what Ardyn has made of him. And Nyx is as glad he’s accepted as he’s upset about it. Because he would never have said yes before, but then again, Nyx would never have had to make such an offer, either.

Nyx walks into the closet, grabs his hand to help him up. Cor lets him, his movements heavy, sluggish.

They leave the restaurant together in a silence Nyx doesn’t feel he needs to fill, for once.

They reach his apartment 15 minutes later, and Cor hesitates for the first time, as if finally realizing what is happening. But it’s too late to change his mind, and he’s too tired to refuse a mattress that’s not made of potato sacks and bags of flour. He follows Nyx inside, slowly takes off his shoes and hangs his jacket on one of the hooks on the wall.

Nyx should be more nervous, but he’s too worried to feel anything else. Cor isn’t acting normal, nothing about this situation is normal, but it hits him, right then and there, that there’s little he wouldn’t be willing to do for him.

‘Take the bed,’ Nyx says softly. ‘I’ll sleep on the couch, unless you don’t mind sharing.’

‘We can share, it’s fine,’ he whispers. Nyx has never seen him so empty, so detached.

‘Ok, well, bedroom’s over there. I need to shower, so make yourself at home, I guess.’

Nyx comes out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later to find Cor curled up on the bed, right on top of the covers, already fast asleep. He doesn’t have the heart to wake him to pull the covers on top of him, so he grabs a woolen blanket from his drawer and lays it on top of him. He then slips under the covers next to Cor.

He lets his fingers brush the older man’s cheek before drifting off to sleep.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Just so everything makes sense:  
> Cor is the head chef (until stuff happens).  
> Nyx starts off as a waiter.  
> Drautos is (a shit) maître d'.  
> Ardyn becomes manager in 2009 and basically ruins everyone's lives for years.
> 
> (Also, not sure if I'll elaborate on this in the future, so: Cor starts sleeping at Nyx's place basically every night, and just sort of... moves in... and they just sort of... start cuddling and kissing and stuff. Like, it just happens, organically, over time. They don't really get it either but hey, they're happy so what the hell.)
> 
> Thank you for reading! Kudos and comments deeply appreciated!!
> 
> (come talk to me on [tumblr](http://furimukuna-amuro.tumblr.com/) and [ffxv tumblr](https://thelegendarynoctgar.tumblr.com/), I'm very lonely)


End file.
